"FittedPieces and All About Wood" --by RusticWoodArt

Sometimes it’s best to wait, till the whole story unfolds and then we get a more clear picture story! I took these this afternoon and then while sitting here this evening and placing them on the computer, the picture begin to just tell it’s own story before me.

....and so I start with a bolt….

....now give me a steel wheel….

....four steel bolts, complete with washers; one steel wheel on a steel rail; making way for a….

....making way for one barn door hanger, fitted pieces on red painted wood….

....coming into view on a red barn door….

....constructed red barn door on an English Barn….

....telling a part of a picture story of how; steel and wood can come together for a renewal of a 1780 English Barn. Just goes to show you that barns can be ‘born again’!!!

—-fitted pieces and all about wood is the story of how wood fits in all around me….GODSPEED,FrankRusticWoodArt

9 comments so far

Nothing a wire brush and a little paint wont fix. Why did you paint the door and not the hardware, Frank? It would be ashamed to loose that nice hardware to rust, wouldn’t it? Looks like new bolts, too. That’s a very nice barn you have there! Looks awfully cold there!

Frank, this picture story tells a number of stories depending on ones interpretation.

The bolt head is often were we concentrate. It’s small, detailed, although shiny, uninteresting and seemingly unimportant.

Unimportant, that is, until you discover that this, at first, seemingly insignificant piece of metal is performing a vital task. It’s part of a much bigger whole. In fact it is precision fit to perform just the task for which it was designed, and judging from its shiny appearance it’s new. This means that a new bolt has been installed amongst some older components to complete the work of the whole carriage assembly.

To me this speaks of the importance of apparently unimportant things. These things could be likened to people or tasks. We may feel the role that we play is not very important, but if we don’t do our part then greater stress is placed on others who have to make up for out lack. And when you stand back and take a big picture look, then the importance of our roles become much more apparent. There it is, the young amongst the old, doing its part for the good of the whole.

Think of the failure of the ‘O-ring’ in the Challenger space disaster.

—-hi Mark; and no, you are not stupid….I found this hardware some years ago, after I decided I could not bear to use the new fan’gled stuff. Actually what I started gathering for this barn became a hobby of sorts, and I am now in possession of lots of extra….all sizes and designs of barn door hangers and rollers and the steel tracks for them to ride upon. I must admit to a passion for old barns and the hardware inside them….never can pass one by without stopping to see if I can root around in them.

As for painting the door, well in keeping with character and style of an old barn, some say it’s permissible to paint the barn door—-but we never paint the barn and then also….who says never, so it becomes a matter personal flavor. Considering that the timbers inside this barn are prior to 1780, coming from other structures and the dating of this post and beam is around 1780, while the bolts themselves are around 4 years old, yes I guess you might say the bolts are new. As for the barn rollers rusting, well….don’t quote me now as I’ve not fully reseached this, (now look what you’ve went and done Mark, something else I must add to my list of do’s) but I would place them around 100 and more years old, I guessing into the 1800’s. So as to the rust you see, well I guess the steel was different back then.

....and yes, it can get to be cold around here. Been hanging around the big 0’ mark lately with wind chills at 17-20 below, while outside the other day I was listening to the trees cracking as they moved in the wind. Yesterday we had a warm spell come through, must have been in the 30’s….ha!, can I send some of this white stuff your way?

—-thanks Don; as usuall you have a very good all seeing eye!....great interpetation also….I like that Don; “the young amongst the old, doing its part for the good of the whole.”

—-hi Dennis; actually I had thought of doing this in google earth, just have not got around to loading the program on my computer again. I had google earth and google 3D on here once before and then experienced a computer crash and since that time have not taken the time to reload, so I’m placing this one on my list of do’s also. Had someone tell me not long ago that from google earth, they got a shot of the red metal roof.

Hi Debbie;—-didn’t mean to pass you by, your comment was just hid on my radar screen as I was posting my thanks for all the comments.Ah yes, the barn door sits or hangs in silence….never asking for more, that is a power door that opens to the call of my hand as I beckon for all to come inside….

That red door brings out the beauty of the wood. That hardware won’t get any rustier than it is now, it looks great. They make steel now that’s made intentionally to rust. It’s called core-ten steel. The U. S. Steel building in Pittsburgh is made of this.

Hi Dick;—-sorry for being so slow in getting back to you for your answer. I figured there was a reason something like this one you gave, since in all my years of collecting them I have never seen them go the way of rust. I still use them on barn doors and the wheels will crack from wear and stress, but have never seen one fail from rust.